Understanding Sin and Evil

Thank you to the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer for the transcript of this episode. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Understanding Sin and Evil, Episode 2: Cain and Abel, an Oracle of Sin. Now, if you haven’t listened to the first episode, which was a story of Adam and … The post Understanding Sin and Evil #2: Cain and Abel – An Oracle of Sin appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

I am re-posting this episode with a FULL transcript, thanks to the efforts of the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer. Welcome to my new podcast series: Understanding Sin and Evil. In this series, I will be discussing ideas of sin and evil in the Bible and in the ancient world, in … The post Understanding Sin and Evil #1: The Origin of Sin that Wasn’t appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

Join our lively discussion on Enoch and the Book of the Watchers! What biblical texts lie behind the Book of the Watchers? What was the sin of the Watchers? How did Jews of the Second Temple period use this story to explain the Flood and the origin of all evil? The post Dead Sea Scrolls & 2nd Temple Literature #3: Enoch – The Book of the Watchers appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

Join us for a discussion of the Book of Jubilees, a prime example of “Rewritten Bible.” Why would an author in antiquity want to believe in demons roaming with God’s permission? How did writers in the Second Temple period attempt to “fix” the biblical text? What biblical topics became a … The post Dead Sea Scrolls & 2nd Temple Literature #2: The Book of Jubilees appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

Welcome to yet another new series! This class in Hebrew Bible will alternate with the Second Temple literature series. This introductory class will give you a quick overview of what makes the Twelve Minor Prophets — also known as Trei Asar — special. What is exceptional about the “span” of … The post Minor Prophets #1: Introduction to Minor Prophets – Trei Asar appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

Welcome to the beginning of a new lecture series: an overview of Jewish texts of the Second Temple period and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this first, introductory class, we explore what makes these texts special and why we should learn them. Join us as we discuss the different collections … The post Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature #1: Introduction appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this class, we discuss the ultimate example of collective punishment gone horribly, horribly wrong: the Concubine of Gibeah, known in Hebrew as Pilegesh BaGive’ah. This story closes the book of Judges (chapters 19-21), and for good reason. Join us as we discover its “Twilight Zone”-style reality and explore the … The post #31: The Concubine of Gibeah – Pilegesh BaGive’ah appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

We’re back! Join us as we engage in a high-level discussion on the different views of collective and intergenerational punishment in the Bible. What does God and Abraham’s conversation on Sodom tell us about justice? How is the problematic nature of collective punishment portrayed in the Hebrew Bible? What problems … The post #30: Collective and Intergenerational Punishment in the Bible – Review appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

This podcast is a continuation of the previous discussion on the shift of the biblical view and representation of intergenerational punishment. In this podcast, we delve into Ezekiel and his presentation of the “way things work”: there is no intergenerational punishment, and each individual is responsible for him or herself … The post #29: Ezekiel, Intergenerational Punishment & Individual Responsibility appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode we discuss the approach to divine intergenerational punishment (the punishment of a future generation for the sins of a past generation) in the Bible, such as in the “Divine Attributes” enumerated in Exodus, and how we can see a distinctive shift in the attitude toward intergenerational punishment … The post #28: Intergenerational Punishment – Changing Worldviews in the Bible appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this far-reaching episode, we discuss the idea of collective punishment in the Hebrew Bible, the problems it poses in the context of divine morality, and its (strict) limits in human justice. We explore the stories of Sodom and the Concubine of Gibeah, the statute of the “Rejected City” of … The post #27: Collective Punishment — Divine Morality and Human Justice appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

What was behind Antiochus’s decrees? Was Hanukkah really the end of the fight for independence? And what was the difference between Judean and Diaspora views of the Hanukkah story and the Hasmonean revolt? I explored these questions through a talk on the First and Second Books of the Maccabees – two … The post Behind the Scenes of the Hanukkah Story: The Books of the Maccabees appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode, we discuss what it means for our changing understanding of sin to have a canonized, “frozen” Scripture that must remain relevant, and begin exploring the biblical ideas of “sin as a burden” and intergenerational punishment. Why would someone believe that future generations could suffer for the sins … The post #26: Concepts of Sin — The Meaning of Scripture and Sin as Burden appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode, I recap everything we have discussed so far, before I begin a new chapter of the podcast. This is a great place to start if you are new to the podcast, and you can then cherry-pick the past episodes you would like to delve into further. As … The post #25: The “Understanding Sin” Recap Episode — How Far We’ve Come! appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

Join me for a close reading of the Treatise of the Two Spirits, a passage in the Community Rule that explains the origin of sin as the result of a dualistic division between the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness. (And yes, I’m hoarse in this episode. Change … The post #24: The Puzzle of the Treatise of the Two Spirits appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode, we explore texts from the Qumran community that emphasize responsibility for sin and freedom of choice, despite the sect’s usual deterministic leanings. In the Dead Sea sect’s legal texts, community members are exhorted that they must choose God’s commandments while ignoring their own will — in other words, their evil inclination. … The post #23: Sin, Choice & Responsibility — The Evil Inclination in Legal Dead Sea Scrolls appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode, we look at two Dead Sea Scroll sectarian prayers — the Hodayot and the “Hymn of Praise” in the Community Rule — that present sin, or the inclination to sin, as a state of being. Specifically, they present sin as a state natural to all humans as … The post #22: Sin as State — The Evil Inclination in Sectarian Prayer appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode, we examine the idea of an evil inclination in Second Temple prayer. How did Jews in the Second Temple period characterize the idea of an internal inclination to sin, and how did they expect God to help? We will look closely at those prayers considered “non-sectarian” — … The post #21: Second Temple Prayer and the Evil Inclination – A Cry to the Divine appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

As we continue our series on the idea of an “evil inclination” in Second Temple literature, we return to Fourth Ezra (4 Ezra/2 Esdras) and Second Baruch, and how these books, written in the wake of the destruction of the Second Temple, deal with a belief in an “evil heart” … The post #20: Fourth Ezra and the Tragedy of the Evil Heart appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.

In this episode we move farther afield to Egypt and the Diaspora community of Alexandria. How did Philo of Alexandria (also known as Philo Judaeus) approach the human desire to sin while navigating between a belief in divine revelation and an acceptance of Greek thought? How does Philo reconcile the … The post #19: Philo of Alexandria and “Pessimistic” Free Will appeared first on Understanding Sin and Evil.